Lawn and Landscaping

Tips Growing a Healthy Lawn in the Ozarks

Cooler weather should be just around the corner. It makes a perfect time take care of the lawn. I don’t just mean cutting the grass. Over seeding a lawn with bare spots, aerating and top dress to promote fertilization are all great things to do during cooler weather.

Top dressing is when a thin layer of very high quality dirt is added to the top of a lawn. It is raked in to fill odd holes and divets in the lawn. The dirt is generaly composed of compost, manure and worm castings to help fertilize and replace the nutrients that have been absorbed by the grass root system over time. Every living thing appreciated a diet routine change. Here is a little more information on soil amendment Natural Tricks for Better Soil

Top dress and over seed to fix bare spots.

Over seeding is simply adding new grass seed to the lawn to help fill in bare or thin spots. After topdressing is a great time to overseed. It gives the new seed a good place to rest and lots of nutrients help it grow. Benefits of Over-Seeding

Aerating is for lawns that have become root bound. The roots have in most cases become so grown together that there is no room for new starts to begin. Aeration can also benefit a lawn that has suffered drought or when the soil has not been properly amended and fertilized. Here is more information on Lawn Aeration

Remove Rocks and other Debris. Cooler weather is also a good time to just get out in the yard and remove any loose rocks that happen to have grown. Yes, everyone that lives in NWA know that we actually grow rocks here overnight. They prevent grass from growing, trip children and wreck havoc on lawn mower blades.

Mulching can be done almost all year round. Autumn leaves can be mulched with a lawn mower to add the leaf debris back into the lawn. Its also a lot quicker than raking them all up. Saves garbage bags or the risk of starting a fire for those that burn them instead of bagging or mulching them.

During the growing season mowing over large clumps of grass several times adds the nutrients and any seed that was on the grass back in to the soil.

leaving grass clumps after mowing can kill the new grass growing underneath.

Let the Grass Seed. As the weather gets cooler or before it begins to get to hot let the grass get a little shaggy and produce its own seed. Why waste free seed and risk more bare spots later when the lawn can replenish its self.

grass does not have to grow to high only until you start to see the tassels

A lush grassy lawn takes a little TLC. Well maybe a little more care and attention here in NWA where the ground is so rocky and most of our dirt consists of clay that does not promote good drainage or root growth.